OLD TIGER STILL PROUD OF STRIPES
Ex-Leicester and Scotland centre says old club will try to lay down a marker in Glasgow, writes Gary Heatly
EVER since the European Rugby Champions Cup pool draw was made, with his old Scotland teammate Gregor Townsend’s Warriors placed in the same group as his former team, Leicester Tigers, Craig Joiner has been eagerly awaiting the clash at Scotstoun on Friday night.
It is 20 years since Joiner joined the Tigers, and the draw has brought back memories of a great four years he spent there playing alongside the internationalists such as Richard Cockerill, Martin Johnson and Neil Back from 1996 to 2000.
“It was 1996 and professionalism was coming into the game. I was playing my rugby at Melrose at the time,” said Joiner, who won 25 Scotland caps between 1994 and 2000.
“People often ask if it was a big culture shock going from Melrose to one of the top sides in England, but at The Greenyards I had been playing with internationalists like Doddie Weir, Bryan Redpath and Craig Chalmers.
“So, I felt confident that I could handle the standard down there and it was a great opportunity for me to progress my career.
“The dressing room down at Leicester was littered with big names and when you are playing in a backline that has Austin Healey at scrum-half and Joel Stransky at stand-off then you know the team will create chances.
“Everyone at Welford Road was very welcoming and made me feel at home while the fans were very passionate and often on match days the place would be packed out.
“I look back on my time down there with fondness and I think it helped me grow as a player and as a person as rugby was becoming more professional before I came back up the road to Edinburgh.”
During Joiner’s spell at the Tigers, they won the English league twice and the cup once, but European success eluded them.
“Back in those days, the top European competition was often finished before the Five Nations and in my first season down at Leicester, we managed to reach the final,” Joiner said.
“We lost out to Brive [28-9] and then did not manage to do that well in that competition until after I left, when the Tigers picked up the trophy in 2000/01 and 2001/02.
“The club have always strived to do well in Europe and I am sure the current crop of players will be looking to come up to Glasgow on Friday night and put a marker down.
“They have lost a couple of matches in the Aviva Premiership already though and the Warriors have become a really solid unit over recent seasons, so it should be quite a closely fought battle.”
Joiner, who now works in the financial sector in Edinburgh, has been impressed how far the Warriors have come on as a club over the last few years.
But though they won the PRO12 title in 2014/15, a Champions Cup knock-out spot has still eluded them.
This year’s pool draw has not made that quest any easier, with Racing 92 and Munster also in their group, but with a home game first up and this being Townsend’s last season at the helm before taking over the national side, Joiner believes now is as good a time as any to break the hoodoo.
“The pool does look strong and key to Glasgow making any progress will be their home form. They have made Scotstoun a tough place to come for teams in the PRO12 and they can do that in Europe too,” he said.
“I have been very impressed by the way that Gregor has grown as a coach in recent times and he is, and always was, a great thinker about the game.
“He will have watched all of the Tigers recent matches in detail and come kick-off on Friday night his players will know exactly what is required to get the win.
“There is always a buzz about when the likes of Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour and Finn Russell get on the ball for Glasgow and if they can shine then they could well get a positive result.”
The dressing room down at Leicester was littered with big names and I look back on my time fondly